Everyday Water: cultures in transition

Abstract

In this paper we will present the Everyday Water project as a case study of recent cultural research on domestic water use and its application to natural resource policy and practice. This project is innovative not only because it is a research partnership between a development company and a university but also because of the cultural research approach the project brings to the issue of water resource sustainability and management. The Everyday Water project moves away from thinking of water as a discrete resource or utility, and instead understands its consumption in terms of shifting definitions and uses of services, cultural traditions, and the intersection of everyday practices and expectations with socio-technical systems. The findings so far indicate that while people are prepared to take some DIY measures to save water while they are 'stuck' within current socio-technical systems, many can imagine alternatives, and would be prepared to do more with improved knowledge, better leadership, fewer obstacles, and more incentives to bring about a shift to a different kind of water culture.

Understanding behaviour to inform water supply management in developed nations – A review of literature, conceptual model and research agenda

“…However, they have not compared this with communities not subject to water use restrictions (Friend and Coutts 2006;Marks et al 2008;Randolph and Troy 2007). Allon and Sofoulis (2006) conducted cultural research on domestic water use in Sydney Australia, a city which has been subject to water use restrictions. The authors found that while participants of the study were found to take personal measures to save water, they were "largely stuck within current socio-technological systems".…”

“…Further research is required to explore actual behaviour change resulting from restrictions and other policy interventions. Various authors have discussed the effect media campaigns can have on people's attitudes to alternative water sources (Allon and Sofoulis 2006;Coutts 2006;Dishman et al 1989;Friend and Coutts 2006;Marks et al 2008;Po et al 2003). However, none of these studies have measured the effect those campaigns have had on actual water use behaviour.…”

“…Supply-side solutions range from small-scale decentralized approaches which include water saving household appliances, informal re-use of water, rainwater tanks, and household level wastewater treatment systems. Such innovations are discussed by Allon and Sofoulis (2006). Larger scale centralised solutions include city-wide wastewater recycling systems and seawater desalination plants, both of which have been implemented in various locations around the world (see for example: Government of Western Australia 2003).…”

Re-thinking climate change adaptation and capacities at the household scale

“…A survey of Australian households found that the least affluent households were most adept at creatively changing household practices to reduce energy, fuel, water and food consumption (Waitt et al 2012). In other studies, ethnic minority/migrant households were found to engage in sustainable practices, using public transport at above-average rates and saving water (Allon and Sofoulis 2006). In a qualitative study, Strengers and Maller (2012) observed that many migrants were adept at saving water and energy due to pre-migration experiences of resource scarcity, service disruption, and familiarity with manual water collection and treatment practices.…”

Developing Novel Approaches to Tracking Domestic Water Demand Under Uncertainty—A Reflection on the “Up Scaling” of Social Science Approaches in the United Kingdom

“…From a social science perspective, a core problematic of understanding water demand is the difficulty of making visible the inconspicuous, taken for granted water consumption and waste water production embedded in the use of infrastructures and technologies in the modern home, and the connections of this demand to current and shifting urban infrastructure (Kaika and Swyngedouw 2000;Sofoulis 2005;Allon and Sofoulis 2006;Shove 2003;Hand et al 2005;Kaika 2004;Geels 2005). This inconspicuous consumption becomes particularly concerning for a sector seeking to anticipate the challenges of climatic change in combination with other population, cultural and technological changes.…”